HYDE, Laurence (Wood Engravings). Introduction by Rockwell Kent.. SOUTHERN CROSS. Told in Wood Engravings. With a Review of Stories in Pictures from Earliest Times.. Ward Ritchie, Los Angeles, 1951.

Price: US$165.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: 255 pages, hundreds of woodcuts, gift inscription from the author on the half title. Square duodecimo. Condition of this 1st edition is good antiquarian. The black cloth covers are a little worn, some corner rubbing, spine a bit faded with some pulling at the top, interior clean and unmarked. This unusual book is a very early example of a graphic novel, told entirely in engraved woodcut illustrations without text except for an introduction and a postscript "A review of Block Books and Stories in Woodcuts. " It shows/tells the fictionalized story of Bikini Island in the South Seas and the devastation that came to its inhabitants at the end of WWII with the advent of the nuclear age. The woodcuts are striking and graphic, sharp and clear, in a recognizably mid-century style quite reminiscent of Rockwell Kent, who lends his name and introduction to the book. A beautiful book with a haunting, too human and tragic story, with a gift inscription from the author on the half-title! . ; Wood engraving; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall; Signed by Author

Seller: Leaf and Stone Books, Toronto, ON, Canada